Mount Airy, North Carolina
Mount Airy is a city in and the county seat of Surry County, North Carolina. The population of the city is 10,388. Demographics As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the city is: 79.70% White (8,279) 9.03% Black or African American (938) 8.05% Hispanic or Latino (836) 3.22% Other (335) 19.8% (2,056) of Mount Airy residents live below the poverty line. Theft rate statistics Mount Airy has average rates of Pokemon theft and murder. The city reported 9 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 1.09 murders a year. Pokemon See the Surry County page for more info. Fun facts * The city is widely known as the home of actor Andy Griffith. * The community holds an annual "Mayberry Days" celebration during the last weekend of September; 30,000 attended in 2009, and 50,000 attended for the show's 50th anniversary in 2010. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro estimates the town receives $5 million each year as a result. Surviving members of the cast, along with family members of other cast members, often visit. The 2012 event was slated to have Karen Knotts (Don's daughter) and George Lindsey Jr. (eponymous son of the actor who portrayed Goober). * The home of old-time music legend Tommy Jarrell, bluegrass gospel legends The Easter Brothers, country singer Donna Fargo, Mount Airy has a long history with regional music. Mount Airy's WPAQ 740 AM radio is one of the few Bluegrass and Old-Time music stations still operating and has been airing the live radio show Merry-Go-Round from the Downtown Cinema Theatre since 1948. Weekly bluegrass jam sessions at The Andy Griffith Playhouse and the annual Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention also serve to attract old-time musicians from across the region and the world. The Fiddlers Convention first began in 1972, and is held the first weekend in June at Veterans Memorial Park. The Blue Ridge Music Center with its amphitheater and music museum of old-time music is just a few miles away on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 213, near Galax, Virginia. This area is home to the Round Peak style of old-time music, which started in the Round Peak community, just north of Mount Airy. * Held the second weekend in October, the Autumn Leaves Festival attracts over 200,000 people to the city during the festival weekend. The festival is home to artisans and local vendors selling their unique goods. Around 200 vendors attend the Autumn Leaves Festival, including many food vendors that serve regional favorites such as ground steak sandwiches and collard green sandwiches. With a rich heritage in bluegrass and old-time music, a main stage is set up for local artists to carry on traditional and contemporary bluegrass, gospel, and old-time music. * Mount Airy has a decent amount of amenities to offer for the area it serves. It has a contest hall and showcase theater, dollar stores, Walmart, Solstice Apparel, Nintendo World, a few chain restaurants, some auto parts places and car dealerships, some local restaurants and businesses, some fast food, some hotels/motels, Food Lion, Lowes Foods, Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Belk, Mayberry Mall, a few shopping centers, two sports complexes, some public battle fields, Lowe's Home Improvement, some RV parks, and a few other things. Category:North Carolina Cities